Cellular human tissue-engineered skin substitutes investigated for deep and difficult to heal injuries.

Wound healing is an important function of skin; however, after significant skin injury (burns) or in certain dermatological pathologies (chronic wounds), this important process can be deregulated or lost, resulting in severe complications. To avoid these, studies have focused on developing tissue-engineered skin substitutes (TESSs), which attempt to replace and regenerate the damaged skin. Autologous cultured epithelial substitutes (CESs) constituted of keratinocytes, allogeneic cultured dermal substitutes (CDSs) composed of biomaterials and fibroblasts and autologous composite skin substitutes (CSSs) comprised of biomaterials, keratinocytes and fibroblasts, have been the most studied clinical TESSs, reporting positive results for different pathological conditions.

Linking of psoriasis with osteopenia and osteoporosis: A cross-sectional study.

Background/purpose: Psoriasis is a multisystem disease which has been related to vitamin-D deficiency through chronic inflammation. This psoriasis-related inflammatory state and vitamin-D deficiency may induce bone mineral density loss. The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship of psoriasis with bone mineral density, by comparing psoriatic patients with healthy controls and patients with osteopenia/osteoporosis.

Comparative Study of Shrinkage in Human Skin, Artificial Human Skin, and Mouse Skin.

Introduction: The shrinkage of surgical specimens (SS) is known in human skin (HS) but has not been studied in an artificial skin (AS) or mouse skin (MS).

Objectives: To quantify the degree of shrinkage of SS and establish its timing in HS and an in vitro and animal model to explore the possible causes of this phenomenon.

Methodology: We collected 100 SS of HS, 50 SS of AS synthesized with fibrin-agarose biomaterials and 21 SS of MS.

Photoletter to the editor: Postradiation sarcoma.

Postradiation sarcomas are rare and highly malignant tumors which may appear as a consequence of radiotherapy. They may originate on bone or soft tissues.We report the case of a patient who developed a malignant fibrous histiocytoma 35 years after radiotherapy for a melanoma on her right leg.

Oral Cyclosporine Weekend Therapy: A New Maintenance Therapeutic Option in Patients with Severe Atopic Dermatitis.

Cyclosporine A (CyA) is a systemic therapy used to control severe atopic dermatitis (AD) in children, but its use may be associated with serious side effects. Intermittent short-course therapy has been used to minimize these risks without the loss of clinical benefits. We conducted a 20-week study using intermittent short-course CyA therapy in five patients with severe AD and a Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) score >40.

[Utility of skin ultrasound in the differential diagnosis of blue lesions, hydrocysts].

Many skin diseases may present as blue papules and nodules; the differential diagnosis includes such different entities such as metastatic melanoma, angioma, lipoma, epidermoid cyst, pilomatrixoma, blue nevus, glomus tumor, or hidrocystoma. Cutaneous ultrasound can be a complementary diagnostic technique of great value in these cases.

Photoletter to the editor: Psoriatic erythroderma associated with bullous pemphigoid: clinical appearance and histopathology.

Psoriasis and bullous pemphigoid represent two clinically well-characterized, chronic, inflammatory skin conditions. The concomitant occurrence of these two entities in a patient is rare. We report a 62-year-old male with personal history of psoriasis vulgaris who developed disseminated bullous pemphigoid associated with psoriatic erythroderma.

Study of shrinkage of cutaneous surgical specimens.

Background: The assessment of discrepancies between surgical and histopathological measurements of specimens is important in order to avoid repeat surgery and unnecessary follow-ups.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to quantify the degree, time and influential factors of shrinkage of cutaneous surgical specimens.

Methods: Data of 111 patients were gathered on age, sex, localization, diagnosis and specimen width and length before surgical excision (in vivo), at 5 min postsurgery (ex vivo) and after 24 h of fixation in 10% buffered formalin (postfixation).